after finally fixing my sleeping schedule (mostly) i've started to put together an account of this HK/CHINA 2005 trip, piecing things together from notes i scribbled here n there & photos from the journey. it's gonna take a while, but here's the beginning:
at long last...
:the HK Journals:
last minute...(pre-departure) - Wednesday, February 2 2005
uy...i've always tried hard not to be a procrastinator, but i couldn't avoid it this time i guess. had to get up at the crack of dawn (well, 0745) to drive pops to work so i could use the car - went straight home afterwards to steal another 2hrs of sleep before heading out to get a haircut. i'd already planned ahead and was gonna go yesterday, but barber-dude was busy so i had no choice. of course, i could've just left w/o cutting my hair @ all n try to fit in w/ those hongers n there kooky hairstyles, but....no. let's not. so i got myself a nice n low-maintenance cut, i think i should fit in nicely w/ the Army if i visit China:
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"goot mohling meestah Mao!"
i guess i could force myself to do the honger thing too...
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"err...how does this go...?"
so yeh, after that, had to go pick up some foreign currency. only problem is, i needed it right then n there & most banks don't carry foreign currency so i had to book it all the way to my bank's (TD Canada Trust) main branch in downtown Vancouver, since they were the only one's who'd have any available. enter: the Banana Bandit
so it takes me forever to find parking down there, n luckily i find some spare change in the car for the meter. i only have enough for 45min. but i'm thinking that should be more than enough; how long could it take right? i walk into the bank & there's a pretty long line-up, about 10-12 ppl in line. yeesh. at least they had 6 tellers at the counter. so i line up. (tick tock, tick tock...) after what seemed like 15 minutes, it's finally my turn. i go up to the counter n ask the dude for some foreign currency and he tells me......i'm gonna have to go line-up at customer service for that. they don't do foreign currency at the counter. O_o
(tick tock tick tock...)
there were only 2 ladies working @ customer service; one was already w/ a customer, the other was doing some paperwork over the phone. the lady on the phone motioned that she'd seen me & that she wouldn't be long, i started fidgeting/pacing around, lookin around at the place...(it was actlly pretty nice. i've never been to that branch, n everything's really classy-looking. i guess cuz it's the main branch.) (tick tock...)finally after...oh i dunno, ?10 minutes...the lady on the phone leaves o boy...c'mon already! finally, some other lady comes around n says she can help me. whew...i was starting to get worried about the car, and i was getting hungry too (this was right around lunchtime).
i sit down n ask the lady if this is where i get foreign currency cuz i tell her i'd been waiting in line @ the counter (in vain) n they'd pointed me over to her & i didn't wanna waste anymore time. (i was simultaneously rummaging through the lil pouch (ok fine, my "man-purse") that i'd brought in with me while sitting there) she asks me what kind i need, i tell her HK money. she says they might have some, types something into the computer, then asks me:
clerk: "how much do you want?"
right at that moment, my fingers finally grasp what i'm looking for inside my bag. i look up at the lady (i prbbly looked a lil thuggish b/c a)i've been waiting for too damn long & i'm tired/hungry, & b)i just had a haircut), do a lil mental math trying to decide how much i need (my eyes were prbbly wandering a bit during this, maybe inadvertently over at the security guard leaning against the wall), and then right when the answer comes out of my mouth, my hand simultaneously pulls the object out of my bag and into clear view...
me: "how much do you have?"
i caught the slight look of nervousness on her face as i did this, & she quickly glanced down at what i seemed to be pointing at her...a slender yellow fruit. she recovered quick as lightning & started to crack up a little. it took a second to register in my head what she was laughing about.
me: "sorry how much...?? oh (looking at the banana) no way...u thought...?"
that was so random. i wonder what she would've thought if i'd whipped out the orange instead? bomb? =P so yeh, that was slightly amusing...almost forgot about the time on the meter (tick tock), so i got my cash (they only had 1000s left, so i was quite the "baller":
1000 dollah bills y'all...
finished eating my banana right when i got back to the car and....0:04 left. booya!
one more task...xchange the hunk-o-junk poor excuse for an MP3 player that is the MPIO @ my old store: Future Shop. i'd been uploading some new songs onto my player last night, n although the software bites (always crashes) & the player aint that great, i'd been putting up w/ it for the past few months just cuz i thought what they heck u know? but last night, the thing fried on my or somethin, completely died. so w/ one day left before i'm actlly gonna need it while travelling, i had no choice but to go in & get myself a new one w/ the warranty feature that i'd purchased. so goodybe stupid MPIO, hello to the Creative MuVo:
seems to be working good, let's hope this baby lasts...
so yeh...everything's packed:
tomorrow:
The Arrival - Thursday, February 3 2005
0715: wake up, bobo must really not want me to go.
0830: no hassle check-in @ YVR
- saw these crazy alien-looking spheres in the waiting lounge, some company called “metronaps” rents these pod things out for waiting passengers to nap in
0915: waiting at the gate, flight attendants/pilots for China Airlines arrive n board the plane;reminds me of this Chinese soap opera my mom’s been watching, some show about pilots & flight attendants. These guys must be living out that dream.
On the plane: check out my seating area, lots of space. Nice.
Attendant comes by and hands me a towel. I’m thinking: “great! Are we gonna eat?” no, it’s for wiping my face. =( Then she comes back & hands me some package w/ some weird looking stuff inside. I ask her what it is. “sleeper” she says, then walks away. O_o?? I open up the bag, aah slippers. Very nice, it’ll be a long flight to Taiwan so I get to take off my shoes & walk around in these things if I have to. So in true honger fashion, I enjoy them to their full extent:
no socks = true chinaman
1035: and we’re away…
1100: we don’t get food till 12pm. How to kill the time? Read brochures, listen to music…ok here’s the plan: I tire myself out reading, then eat, then we see a movie (Friday Night Lights), then the “itis” will kick in, then I can sleep. Good plan.
- food finally comes
We get metal utensils? Classy. Or maybe I just don’t get out often enough. I put on the complimentary headphones & tune in to some classical music to go w/ my classy lunch. Marvellous.
- the boneless salmon wasn’t quite boneless enough, but still good.
- Movie II: The Republic of Love. Modern story about singleness, something about how “Geography is Destiny”. Mildly entertaining.
still in the air - Friday, February 4 2005
1445: arrive in Taipei.
- we reach Chiang Kai Shek International Airport early, have to go to another terminal to catch connector flight to HK. They had lil skytrain/subway-like cars inside the airport? Cool…
- had a snack, ham & cheese croissant cost me $4 US? What a rip off…but the lil Taiwanese guy behind the cash register who looked like Peter Pan gave me the wrong change, so it ended up costing me $3 US, but still a rip off.
- While eating, I just realized something: it’s the first time I’ve been out of North America for nearly 10 years. Interesting…
- Waiting to board the second plane, noticed an interesting sign in the terminal:
- hmm…guess I’ll make a note of who not to go to Taiwan with now…lol
- plane to HK from Taipei a bit more crowded, weirdo video-game freak sitting next to me spent the whole flight playing video games on the screen in front of him & talking to himself. He must’ve been so into the game that I don’t even think he noticed my stare of disapproval/disbelief as I glanced over at him periodically.
1850: plane lands just a bit late in HK. Exit, meet my mom’s older brother, Uncle Tyrone, & take a double-decker to his place in Sau Kei Wan. First glimpse of HK in over 10 years. Last time back I was only 9 & i only stayed for 10 days so I really don’t remember much. this is basically my first time to HK. During the ride, UT points out some buildings of interest, including a building that used to house a movie theatre where his dad (my gramps) used to work as an usher. He used to let my mom n my uncle go in & watch movies there while he was working when they got off school.
- drop off luggage @ UT’s place, straight out West on HK Island to Causeway Bay for dinner w/ Uncle Jeremy & his wife Grace, UT’s oldest son Clarence (my cousin) & his g/f Florence, my other cousin Sarah, & UT’s wife Winnie.
- After dinner, go for a walk through the Lunar New Year festivities in Victoria Park. Outdoor markets & celebration/decorations for upcoming Chinese New Year are everywhere & the streets are already getting packed (even for HK).
0215: go home, shower, sleep. End of the Arrival.
(Feb. 3-4 full album)
DAY I: Sau Kei Wan, JUSCO, Tai Koo Place, Mong Kok - Saturday, February 5 2005
0840: fire alarm (or something like that) goes off in a nearby building. Good morning Sau Kei Wan.
-humidity's a friggin crazy 95%!
1000: out for breakfast in old Sau Kei Wan w/ UT, take trolley West afterwards to walk around inside JUSCO mall & Tai Koo Place (another mall), have lunch in TK Place
1400: MTR over to Kowloon side to meet Clarence @ Sham Shui Po station. Takes me walking through endless crowded multi-level plazas, & to go “eat garbage” (their way of referring to eating street food/junk food I guess).
- meet up w/ Clarence's g/f, walk Fa Yuen Street, some other famous shopping streets, & see some of the more down n out plazas including certain buildings where the entire place just sells porn stuff, strange feeling you get when you walk through & see drug addicts/old men who’ve lived that lifestyle n they’re stuck in that way of life, n u see young kids working in those same stores, packaging product etc…wondering if they’re gonna end up just like the old guys who stand in the doorways & endlessly solicit you to come on in & have a look. A brief glimpse into another world…
- dinner later @ Ngan Lung, walk through more of Mong Kok into the night, see promo model girls in the streets, specialty shops, etc.
- snack later on, food was definitely fresh. More walking around.
0200: took the 102 bus back to the HK Island side, then 2A bus back up the mountain.
- thoughts on the bus @ the end of the day: super-crowded, ppl tell me b/c of Chinese New Year it’s especially busy, which is a relief b/c that means I’m seeing the worst of it up front, so after the new year everything will seem more relaxed. The HK lifestyle: all we did was walk, eat, shop, walk, shop, eat, etc…damn. That’s pretty much all HK ppl do when they’re not working. A materialistic society to the utmost extreme; they got like 5 or 6 stores selling the exact same stuff (cell phones, computer stuff, runners) right next to each other?! In Canada, that’d spell trouble, but in HK there’s just so many ppl buying that it’s ok. Mind you, the same boss may own a lot of these shops, but the size of the supply can only be an indicator of the immense demand HK consumers bring to the market.
- I don’t think I could be a salesperson here; I’m definitely not loud/pushy enough. We consider those types of ppl rude and ineffective in Western society, but out here that’s the way you have to be in order to survive.
0245: Back home & crash.
Full DAY I Album
*whew...that's it for now. more later...